Numerous times we have heard someone declare: “You’re as young as you feel!” This implies that if a person remains active and involved in worthwhile things they will have a youthful outlook on life. My maternal grandmother Pearl Wilson really enjoyed life and had a lot of foolishness about her. One thing I especially remember her saying, “After I die I might get thirsty. So bring a glass of water when you visit my grave and pour the water on it.”

Those who say, “You’re as young as you feel!” This is their way of saying it’s a state of mind. A young man said unto his grandfather, “I hear that getting old is all in your head.” The grandfather thought about that for a moment and then said, “I think you are right! There is your false teeth in the mouth, hearing aids in the ears, loss of memory, eye glasses on your nose, hair growing out your ears, loss of memory, wrinkles on the face, loss of memory; yes, you are right. And did I mention the loss of memory?”

One blessing of growing old is to win the battle between mind and matter. If you don’t mind then it doesn’t matter.

When a person is young and in good health the taking of medicine is not a daily affair. Most young folks seldom have to take any kind of medication. That is, unless you lived back when a grandmother would give her grandchildren a tablespoon of castor oil. It seemed when I was a kid all medicine tasted bad, but in the last several years some medicine has been favored up. As the years creep upon us you’d think that older people could live on pills. This is because many have to take several pills and other medicine on a daily basis.

There are hypochondriacs who are preoccupied with their health. They worry about themselves and has the tendency to imagine they have the same sickness others have. They look forward to taking medicine. Now taking medicine is not one of my things. My wife and our doctor has to remind me to take my medicine.

I enjoy life and being involved in worthwhile endeavors. Just sitting back in a rocking chair and watching television hour after hour is not for me. We will surely live longer if we have a will to live. Instead of thinking primarily of our self we should have an interest in the welfare of others.

Dub Mowery is a Gospel preacher in the Church of Christ. Presently he serves as full time evangelist for the Pittsburg Church of Christ. A native of Southeast Oklahoma, he is the author of Colloquial Sayings & Expressions (Morris Publishing, 2008)